New Bill Outlaws Revenge Porn in California

Yesterday, a bill was signed that would punish anyone responsible for creating "revenge porn" in California. Governor Jerry Brown inked the bill, which would send the bitter bunch who share intimate and potentially embarassing photos of former significant others to jail in certain cases.

Bill 255 will make the act of "[posting] identifiable nude pictures of someone else online without permission with the intent to cause emotional distress or humiliation" a misdemeanor. This would be punishable by a maximum of six months in jail and a fine of $1,000.

The state had previously allowed victims to sue their aggressors, but that process consumes both time and money. Bill 255 has been met with opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union, which argues that the bill restricts free speech.